In general, near infrared dyes do not have high extinction in combination with good photostability. In addition, a few available near infrared dyes with reasonable photostability typically do not have good solubilities in UV-curable acrylate monomers or in polymer coatings used for labeling optical storage media. Lastly, vast majority near infrared dyes have pronounced visible signatures, which add an unwanted color to the coating in which it is used. Thus, there is a need to provide dyes that overcome at least some the disadvantages or deficiencies of current near infrared dyes.